New
CD from Charly Records is an historical record of Presleymania &
Elvis' eclectic musical roots

"Elvis
Presley: Rockin' Tonight!"

Charly
Records,

SNAF828CD,
EU, 2002.

This
is a great double CD release from Charly Records showcasing
The King at the height of Presleymania!

The
first disc is all Elvis, capturing the 29 tracks recorded
during Elvis' appearances on the Louisiana Hayride between
October 1954 and December 1956.

The
Elvis only disc includes several versions of That's All Right, Mama;
Blue Moon Of Kentucky, I Got A Woman, I Was The One and Hound Dog.
Long Tall Sally; Maybelline; Tweedlee Dee (two versions) all exhibit
the fresh exuberance of the young Hillbilly Cat.

Several
other songs released as Sun singles are included: the salacious
Baby, Let's Play House; I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine, Good
Rockin' Tonight and I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone. Rounding
out the archives are Elvis' first international hit, Heartbreak
Hotel and a rockin' good time on Money Honey.

An
interesting recording glitch occurs on the first track, That's All
Right, Mama, where the sound engineer obviously forgot to turn on
the microphone to capture the audience reaction until part way into
the song. The 'live' recordings of Hearts of Stone and Love Me Tender
are genuine 'rare' archival material and if you want to experience
the deafening roar of thousands of teenage girls at the height of
'Presleymania', Love Me Tender will leave you in no doubt as to
what it was like!

While
the overall sound quality is quite variable between tracks (hardly
surprising given the recording context), as a set the recordings
represent an historical record of the seminal early days in the
Elvis story.

Other
pleasing inclusions are A Woman's Love aka Thrill of Your Love by
Carl McVoy, a previously unreleased Sun recording and Carl Mann's
version of the underrated up-tempo song, I'm Coming Home and the
original of what would become Love Me Tender, 'Aura Lee' sung by
The Shelton Brothers.

The
28 tracks on disc 2 are a fascinating and challenging cross-section
of the diverse musical influences shaping the future King of Rock
& Roll. They neatly demonstrate the cross-musical impact of traditional
country singers like Hank Snow and Leon Payne, the powerful gospel
influence of groups like The Golden Gate Quartet and the raucous
blues infiltration from Big Boy' Crudup to Kokomo Arnold.

Listening
to these original recordings it is easy to hear how Elvis incorporated
and copied the 'styles' of those artists rarely widely appreciated
for their important contribution to the evolution of youth music,
rock & roll.

This
type of early Elvis compilation is now commonplace. However, 'Elvis
Presley Good Rockin!' distinguishes itself from the crowd by offering
much better value-for-money than the many $5.00 releases of Elvis'
Louisiana Hayride performances.

In
addition, the compilation of Elvis' Rockin' Roots, 28 original tracks
all on the one CD is a great eclectic, pot pourri that both challenges
and satisfies your musical interest. The double disc set is nicely
presented with an attractive cardboard slipcase and picture discs.

Verdict:
Nicely presented combination incorporating Elvis' diverse musical
roots with archival Louisiana Hayride recordings and The King at
the peak of Presleymania!